Large portrait of a dignitary. Japan. Muromachi... Lot 17

Large portrait of a dignitary. Japan. Muromachi period (1336-1573). Ink and pigments on silk. 194 x 128 cm. The realization of this important portrait required the preparation of a support juxtaposing three strips of silk. The anonymous figure is depicted in courtier costume, holding a tablet in his right hand and a sword in his belt. He is seated on a sort of quadripod pedestal, which is not the custom for civil portraits, but is more associated with representations of Kamis, the deities or spirits venerated in the Shinto tradition. The facial features, the sword and the tablet would suggest that this is most likely a representation of Tenjin, a name that is an abbreviation of Tenman Daijizai Tenjin, a divine title attributed to Sugawara no Michizane (845-903), an illustrious statesman, scholar and artist who was disgraced and wrongly exiled. He was at first considered as a rancorous and fierce spirit who had to be spared, and therefore looked upon as a particular kami, before being honored and venerated as a deity of poetry, studies and culture in general, not only in Kyoto, but soon throughout Japan. It is interesting to note that as such, he is equally revered in Shinto and Zen Buddhist shrines. It would be mainly during the end of the Southern and Northern Dynasties (1333-1392), and during the Muromachi period that the devotion to Tenjin had its most important development in the Zen monasteries. Executed during the Muromachi period, our large portrait would therefore be at the peak of the popularity of Tenjin worship. Wear, framed under glass. Provenance : Trémois Collection. Acquired from Michel Beurdeley (Paris) in 1968. Published / Reproduced : Michel Beurdeley - Shinobu Chujo - Motoaki Muto - Richard Lane : " The song of the pillow - the art of loving in Japan" Bibliothèque des arts 1973, page 54. TRÉMOIS Graphic works - Monograph 1974 - page 154.TRÉMOIS Paintings, sculptures, engravings, medals and the "Secret Museum" - retrospective at the Paris Mint 1984 - Catalogue pages 65 and 71 - Prefaces by Pierre Dehaye Director of the Monnaies et Médailles, and Michel Beurdeley Expert. TRÉMOIS Monograph - Editions du Rocher 1982 - Pages 204 and 207.TRÉMOIS Catalogue raisonné - Editions Monelle Hayot 2017 - Page 47 - Text by Yvan Brohard. TRÉMOIS an artist, a century (volume the world of the arts - Editions El Viso 2022 - 3 volumes - Page 22 - Text of Yvan Brohard